Stories Of Us
by Pinkamena's helper
Summary: It is said evil is made, not born. Will contain gore, graphic violence, drug references, and other obscenity, read at your own discretion.
1. Chapter 1

Celestia sat upon her throne, looking blankly at the stain glass windows in her throne room. Her eyes fell upon one which depicted the elements of harmony defeating Nightmare Moon and restoring Luna back to her kind self. She stared at it, transfixed, but then looked away hurriedly, she wanted nothing to do with her those accursed elements, they had taken too much from her, she couldn't bear their sight. She could faintly hear a slight murmuring, as if someone was talking. She ignored this, and allowed thought to engulf her mind. _I wish I destroyed those things, at least with Luna banished, no one had to die!_ Her brain rattled with anger, as it had for many months. The speaking got louder, and the princess did her best to drown it out, she had no interest in what it had to say. _Those blasted necklaces! They ruined everything, I wish that little bastard had simply stayed a depressed filly on pissant farm!_ She could feel herself seething with rage, this whole year had too much, she was almost relieved it was to come to an end soon.

The sound of hoofs retreating down to the entrance echoed throughout the hall. She felt a hoof on her left shoulder. She looked over to see her sister, Luna, looking at her worriedly,"Sister, that was the head of the guard, she's been here a half an hour." Celestia sighed,"Just send her in already." Luna nodded, and motioned for one of the guards to go tell the colt who had just left of the princess's orders. He nodded and hurriedly trotted to the exit, throwing the door open. "I can see her, if you want, I know how you detest her presence, no one would think less of you, none of us want that…that lunatic within a mile of our personage." Celestia shook her head,"I've never let anyone else make my decisions for me,I don't intend to start, besides, next time we see her face, it'll be rolling on the ground, next to her." Luna nodded,"You've been very strong through all this, I know the loss of life hit you hardest." Celestia looked at her solemnly,"There was nothing strong about it, I can't let myself mourn like the rest of you, or reel in disgust, I must do what I've always done, look after this land, during the good and the bad."

The sound of the door opening broke them of their intentions for further conversation. If that hadn't the sound of chains rattling would of, as well as how they sounded dragging on the floor. Dragging them was a mare. She was average height., and looked like she hadn't eaten in a a good amount of time. She sported a pink coat, and a darker pink mane, which was pin straight, and fell down her face like a waterfall, parted by her ear on one side. She had sky blue eyes, that looked around the room with incredible speed, darting from one sight to the next. Her face was contorted into a smile, a sickly smile, it lacked any joy, or other emotions associated with the facial expression. It, as well as her eye, portrayed something else. Sadness, and madness, and pain, and hunger, it mixed together, and it made her look like a caged beast in a zoo.

She approached the throne with four guards, two on either side of her. They all wanted desperately to flee, they knew what she had done. The ones furthermost back looked at her flank in morbid fixation. Where her cutie mare would have been, was a sickening display of scars, jagged lines in her flesh which had taken desecrated her cutie mark. In these lines, something was written, a small little sentence. She had lived by this. The fallen and died looking at it. The royal guard had burned into their memory. "Life Is A Party!" was carved their, it stuck out because it was so profoundly carved, It would had been carved over and over, she had divulged, to make sure she could always look at it.

She shuffled forward rather aimlessly. It was really more of a bounce, she half jumped forward, this strange pink mare. She seemed to revel in the fear that radiated of the guards and permeated every orifice of their minds. As she bounced, she shot a look over to the guard closest to her face, who happened to be looking the other way. She bounce her head towards him, and as he leaped from her, the entire escort besides him reacted in a way befitting that which would be acceptable when dealing with a rabid lion, one who hadn't been fed recently. They all pulled on her chains, dragging her to the ground, and gave her a sharp look, each and every one of them. She in the meantime was giggling uncontrollably. She looked at one, and made a biting motion with her head, and went into a hysterical laughing. They all jumped a little at this, and one muttered something to himself, something rather inaudible.

The sisters watched in a shared disgust. Loathing radiated from them, everyone could feel it. They stared at her with looks of malice, as the escort veritably dragged her, she was barely able to stifle her laughter, as she was practically tossed in front of the sisters. Celestia grimaced, as the mare, who was on her knees, as the guards had literally forced her to kneel, got to her feet, and beamed upward. The princess forced her mouth to open,as Luna passed her a scroll, which when opened had the title,"Pinkamena Diane Pie." scrolled in elegant letters, she spewed out the unavoidable words like bile. "Pinkamena Diane Pie." she began before being interrupted by the shackled mare . "Hiya princess, how've you been?" her voice was rather ragged, and course, like she had been using it to payed no mind,"You have been convicted of 15 counts of murder, 15 counts of torture, 15 counts of abduction, 15 counts of corpse desecration, 3 accounts of escaping from federal prison, 5 counts of assault, 2 counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and 1 count of lying before a federal judge, for this you have been sentenced to death, which is to be carried out exactly a year after you were sentenced, this is your final appeal."

The mare began laughing again, and Luna rolled her eyes, and leaned into her sister's ear, whispering,"She's always like this sister, she's a madmare, and from the reports of the resident psychologist, is incapable of defending her own case, let us stop wasting time reading the charges and just have her executed tomorrow, I can make the necessary arrangements within the next several hours." Celestia sighed,"We would be no better than her, she has the right to plead her case, we have the right to send her to death once she has been given this ."Luna scoffed,"If you want to listen to a lunatic then be my guest, have somepony fetch me for the verdict." with that the youngest of the two sisters trotted off up the to her quarters. "Ooooh, hey princess, I got a game, I call, why is Luna sad! You wanna go first!" Celestia held back the urge to say something of a less than polite nature, she wanted to just get this over with,"Pinkamena, you have been summoned here to plead against your sentencing, make your plea." Pinkie looked at the stained glass window to her right, it depicted Discord being reverted back to stone, with the elements around him,she sighed, as nostalgia filled her mind,"I wonder how the girls are doing." Celestia looked over to where Luna had left, _she was right she doesn't give a damn._ "Do you have a plea?"

The former party pony shook her head,"Of course not, I have no defense Tia." the final word rolled off her tongue with a certain malice. Celestia's face was a mix of suppressed surprise at the informal way she was addressed and growing annoyance at the situation,"It would help your case if you simply gave a formal confession, or a reason for these crimes."

The pink mare laughed at this,"Crimes? Your ancient Tia, can't you appreciate what they are? I made their decrepit flesh into art." The alicorn motioned for the guards to alert the carriage it was to make a return trip soon, and turned back to the killer in front of her. There was something different about her. Her posture was more aggressive,that was the first thing to notice. Her head was positioned upward, and she starred at the princess with a look of intense satisfaction, her face was contorted into a smirk unbefitting her. If you looked behind those blue eyes, you could see her mind at work, her demeanour was abhorrently more conceivable as a sadist of the highest caliber then when she first burst in the doors.

It was unnerving to Celestia, beyond description, it disturbed and perplexed her. _They said she was a madmare, perhaps this is an insanity induced shift in mindset, they say it can happen to freaks like this_. The thought comforted her, but she still had a tinge of fear in the back of her mind. It was like those chains were not there, like she was toying with her, and ready to pounce at any second. "You're wasting time, either plead a case or get to writing you will." Pinkie fell into a fit of laughter, slumping unto the ground, and rolling in her own madness, causing the chains to clank together, the sound was most agonizing to the ears. Celestia sighed,"Pinkie, we have a plea bargain worked out, we know you had a partner." Pinkie got to her feet, surprise plastered to her face,"What?" the alicorn looked at her,"If you tell us who it was, we will revoke the verdict, you will be allowed to live until you die of old age." Pinkie starred back at the ancient equine,"You wanna know my partner, here allow me to enlighten you Tia."

There was a sense of both apprehension and excitement in the room. If she really had a partner, the lives of innocent civilians were on the line, and the families of the fallen deserved closure. The guard force had taken the worst blow from this entire ordeal, they were deemed incompetent, catching this mystery killer would be redemption. Celestia herself was hoping she would have remained silent, she didn't want to see the equine who committed these atrocities to pony kind, why should she want to see the one who would help. To be frank, the claim she made was a lie, it was not but a theory, and now, the very idea she had so desperately hoped was not but a theory seemed as if it were to be fact.

The pink mare looked around, gauging the spectacle, like a showpony does before a big finale, she seemed to get satisfaction, as eyes followed hers, and as she beamed at the rest of the room, it was like she was silently laughing at them, as if she was howling with joy at the reaction to her words. She opened her mouth, and took at deep breath, and exhaling before speaking,"He is the one under your bed at night, the thing within the shadows, that moves for just a moment, and freezes, so that all you know of him is the corner of your vision, he is the whisper that isn't said, and the one who snatches your foals and fillies, and hides them, so that they are forever lost to you, he is me, and am him!" she fell to the floor laughing like the mamare she was, and Celestia rolled her eyes,"Your gibberish is not appreciated, you will be executed within the week, on the day of your sentencing, as was the sentence, you will be held in the prison you are accustomed to for the rest of your days, the fine that is to be paid for a legal will and testament is still in place, and you will have to meet it within two days of your execution, we are done here." Celestia go up from her throne, and begin walking to the stairway leading to her chambers, the sound of rattling chains behind her.

A servant made his way towards the princess, and used his magic to unfurl a long scroll,"Princess, you still have several more meetings, ponies are expecting you to be there." Celestia shot a look at him like daggers,"Then tell them I will meet them tomorrow, damn it! I should have the right to a moment of respite." He nodded feverently, noticeably shaken with the princess's rage, something in which no one had truly been acquainted with in this world. He and the alicorn parted ways, and she ascended the stairs, passing through a large corridor upon her arrival at their top, and finally to a pair of doors at the end. The one on the left barred a replica of her cutie mark, the right Luna's, and she opened the former.

The room she had entered into was large, to put it simply. It had walls lined with bookcases, filled with volumes of great variety, from poetry to history, drama to comedies. A large bed sat in the center of the room, with a luxurious bed spread coloured a pale white. At the back of the room was a balcony, which allowed one to gaze upon the splendor of Canterlot. She threw herself unto the aforementioned bed, and would lay sprawled across it for several hours, trying desperately to achieve the blissful salvation from this world that is sleep, to no avail. By the time she could bare this attempt at rest for no longer it was long past the time in which her sister had raised the moon, and dropped the sun beyond the horizon. More and more Luna threw this orb out of the horizon, and more and more it came up late.

Celestia arose from her hellish state of mock relaxation, and found herself on her hooves, walking to the balcony. She reached the edge, and stood over it, looking at the night sky. The stars fascinated the mare. In all her years, she had never had the time to truly find out what they were, except that they were. That was it, they just were. Perhaps Luna knew, though honestly Celestia and her sister never had many conversations of any kind, and asking her anything to do with the sky, or the moon, upset her, to varying extents. She wasn't whole, was what the ancient goddess of sun thought, she had been alone for a thousand years, she was never expected to be the same, but she was so different, it upset her sister, saddened her.

The night sky allowed the alicorn to pour unto it her sorrow, as tears did fall out of her eyes, and clung to her face, as if even an expression of her agony was to pity her. _I've let my people down! I've let the elements down, and I let the families down! I am no better than that… that thing that was dragged into my castle today._ She sobbed for a moment or two, and remembered how she had been so blind. Shining Armour said it was most likely an increase in Timber Wolve aggression. It was feasible, after all, they were considered the cause of about ten deaths and disappearances per a year, and they could be blamed for more if one pack was ousted from their territory or the like, which was not uncommon. She shook her head, _I couldn't have known, this hasn't happened since Shenitar HalfHearted, I, need something to clear my head, perhaps a walk around the castle will do me a little good._

With that thought she walked back into her chambers, and then proceeded to exit the room, now being within the confines of her familiar corridor. She strode down this hallway, went down the stairs, and eventually found herself in the subterranean level of the castle, the kitchen. It was a massive and cluttered space, filled with an assortment of different culinary tools and machines. She strode to the left corner, and opened up the storage device that was backed into this corner. Within was an assortment of what would be considered desserts. They were all on separate shelves, and she could feel the cold air blasting out of the now opened orifice of this monstrously large storage vessel. It was powered by a powerful alchemy ingredient called, "Windigo Extract". It was a clear blue liquid that was colder than frozen over hell, and flowed like a thick molasses when poured, it was commonly found within certain rocks.

That was why there were rock farms you see, you could make a living if you quarried enough of stones containing it. Most establishments that served food in Equestria used them to power their storage units, so as to keep their food from rotting. She looked at these shelves, searching for something that struck her fancy. Her eyes landed upon a small chocolate cake, and she used her magic to levitate it to her. She took this cake to a small table in the center, and pulled a chair to her.

She bothered not with forks, rather shoving simply bringing it up to her face, and taking bites, chewing like a starved Timber Wolf on a fresh kill, and swallowing it without much regard to whether or not it was fully chewed. She was voracious when she found herself depressed. She finished it in no more than a good 15 minutes, and found her stomach less than pleased with her gourging. She found that she felt better, even if not by much, and she retreated to her chambers, and fell unto her bed, and fell into a rather restless sleep, a dreamless, black slumber.


	2. Chapter Two:Bits Make The World Go Round

Two colts walked down the streets of Canterlot. One was a unicorn, the other an earth pony. They had about them a foreboding air, like what would be associated with equines of a most dubious nature, this they were, so it was to be fitting. One was normal sized, standing about as tall as any other, and wore a cheap suit. If you ever were to see the inside, the rental tag would be blatant, and it was marked as a year since it's wearer had borrowed it. He was brown coated, with deep hazel eyes and a cutie mark of a bag of coins, overflowing so as two or three were outside of it. He had a confident stride, and was looking straight ahead. The other was the opposite in quite a few ways. He stood a full head taller than the other colt, but you couldn't tell it.

You see, he either held his head down or was glancing around him. He was a light grey coated individual, with deep blue eyes that appeared to be sunken into his sockets. His face was small and his snout didn't stick out as much as the majority of the equine race's did. He would for the most part stare at the ground, but when he would look up, any passer by would wish he hadn't. He had a look in his eye that could only be equated to that of a rabid animal, one which was in fact surrounded by the water the condition caused such an abhorrence for. HIs eyes would dart around, then would return to the street. He walked in thrall of his smaller counterpart, and would lean over to whisper in his ear of his counterpart.

They continued walking forward on the main street for a small while, then turned into an alleyway. Said alleyway lead not but a dead end, blocked off with a stone wall. They walked to the end, and then stood still. For several moments they simply stood there, staring at the wall, then the tall one spoke, "Do you wish to go in?" his voice held a certain sharp quality that made one's blood go frigid and it's regality made it rather odd to hear from somepony of his appearance smaller one nodded to him. The giant walked forward and touched his horn to the wall, said body part glowed a pale grey for a moment, then the light faded and he walked back to his companion. Nothing happened, and the shorter one's face contorted into a grimace, and he looked up to unicorn,"Why isn't anything happening? Dear Celestia you're useless!"his

The tall colt paid him no mind, and stared blankly at the wall. "What are you staring at? Tell your betters that our business has concluded, and to expect repercussions for their rude treatment of me, a representative of the very family you beseeched for trade! Are you listening to me?" before he could continue to yell at his counterpart, a noise like that of rock grating upon rock took his attention from the giant and to the source, the wall. One of the bricks in which the wall was composed of, positioned on the bottom in the center, had slid from it's spot, and had moved aside, in front of the nearest brick to right. It was followed by the brick nearest to it on the lefthand side, and quickly bricks began sliding out of place in mass to form a doorway. The giant looked down at the self proclaimed representative, shall we proceed sir, or would you prefer to be escorted back to the station, I believe the next train arrives within the hour," The earth pony stood astonished."Freaks and their tricks." he muttered and began walking toward the now blemished wall.

As he walked his fellow fell back into his thrall, walking close behind him. When the reached the doorway, it was discovered that whatever they were to journey into was not lit whatsoever, being nothing more than what could only be described as a dark hole. The massive colt leaned down to to whisper in the earth pony's ear,"Sir, you have insisted on leading the way thus far, it would be hazardous to your health were we to continue, may I take point, and light the way for you?" The earth pony grumbled and nodded. The unicorn's horn began to emit a faint glow, and he walked forward. With the path illuminated it was now obvious that it was not a path or entry way, but rather a staircase that went down for quite some way.

They proceeded to walk down, and continued descending the smooth stone steps for a few minutes. The entire way down, the earth pony looked around him, growing nervous. _What in Celestia's name do these people even want!? Hiding away for a good decade, then have courier show up at Braeburns door, asking for a meeting, they don't even have any influence in this country anymore outside of this wretched city of freaks!_ The thought of their weakness soothed him _I bet they just want to discuss trade, that's all, and I'm sure they just want to give me a contract to bring back and then we can burn and be done with these idiots._ At this point the stairs stopped and he reached floor. Before him was a large door, with a symbol on the center. It was a crude and rudimentary drawing of a hooded equine and it was done all in black.

The behemoth stood in front and spook in his rough voice,"Shall we go in?" The earth pony took a deep breath and nodded. The door swung open and before him was a most disheartening scene. Before him was a large, dimly light room, made of dark stone. The inside was filled with bookshelves, each stuffed to the maximum of what they could handle. Even with this there were volumed laying upon the ground in neat stacks. In the center was a table and chairs. They were made of a wood which appeared to be aged and rotting slightly, and on the table stood a large glass bottle, the glass being tinted blue. It had a label, but at this distance no one could have read it.

Sitting at the table was a unicorn. He was slightly above average height, blue coated, and possessed most regal features. His grey eyes stared into that of the earth pony and his face contorted into a large smile,"Ah, my esteemed guest, come, take a seat, you must be weary from the long trip." he walked over and sat at the only other chair provided, which was across the table from his host. The unicorn beamed and then turned his head toward the bottle,"Would you like a drink friend, the bottle before me is my personal favorite, it's called dragon blood, I have it imported from Griffon Stone, it is quite strong, but I'm sure somepony of your stature was well aware of what I have told you, yes?" the representative nodded, though in truth he knew nothing of this exotic drink,"Would you like a glass?" he once again nodded, and his host turned to his guide,"Igonoris fetch us some glasses will you?" the giant quickly scurried off and was lost from vision to the books.

"Odd name for a pony, that." remarked the earth pony, and he was met with a nod from his host,"How did you find such a good servant anyway, my own can't be trusted to be alone in the next room." before there was a response Igonoris was back with the two glasses levitating in front of him, they found their way to the table and the bottle was engulfed in a pale grey and it lifted itself to the glass which had placed in front of the guest, it was filled, and the bottle then proceeded to fill the host's unicorn lifted the glass with his magic, and took a small sip,"I don't think we ever were ever introduced" said the earth pony as he raised his own glass and sipped the red liquid. It had was bitter, and filled the drinker's mouth with a tingling sensation akin to that experienced when one's foot falls asleep. When the earth pony forced himself to swallow it, he found it left a most repugnant taste in his mouth. His host flashed a small smile, "You're quite right, we haven't, and there is no need." the earth pony stared at his the colt across from him,"And why not? Is this not an extension of good will to my organization from yours? If we are to build a successful relationship, your name is the least of what I need to know." a small laugh escaped the unicorn, and his smile widened,"This is not good will, you have something my master's desire, and thus we intend to get it."

The representative stared at him, baffled, "Then why bother with hospitality, if you want to discuss true business then I will send word to Braeburn, and you can meet him down in Appaloosa, otherwise we're done here." The colt before him simply motioned to his massive servant, who handed him a large piece of parchment,"You will find that these terms are more than fair." the representative was growing irate, as well as uneasy,"I don't care if they're fair or not, you're letter claimed there was real trade to be discussed." "And indeed there is, read it, and then bring what we ask for, it's very simple." the parchment found itself in next to the still nearly glass, and it the earth pony reluctantly read it."The esteemed Council Of The Canterlot Brotherhood would like to be given the individual known as Applejack, she is to be delivered in two months time by train, and will be met by one of our most reputable members, Igonoris, she will be treated with the utmost care and respect. In return, a sum of 50,000 bits will be shipped to Appleloosa, and can be expected in a month's time after her arrival at most. The Brotherhood thanks you for your cooperation, and looks forward to your agreement."

The uneasy feeling that had been edging at the representative's mind since he had arrived boiled over into a mixture of anger and confusion,"This is a sick joke! You will suffer greatly for wasting our time, we are done." as he attempted to walk out he found the door was locked. "I had hoped that this would go down more civilly, Igonoris, I must go inform the Council of this, deal with the mud pony will you?" the giant nodded, and walked over to him. The earth pony bashed his hoofs unto the chest of his former guide, but to no avail. A smile crept unto the face of Igonoris and he spread a veneer of pale grey light on the struggling colt. He walked forward until his face was next to his quarry, and spit into the colt's eye, eliciting many cuss words from the mouth of his victim. He put his horn to the earth pony's chest, and thrust his forward, pushing it through, and sending blood all over the rest of his chest, and ruining his suit. A scream escaped the mouth of the now impaled representative, and a broad smirk consumed the behemoth's face,"You know, the horn, before being primarily for magical purposes, was often used like this in the days before your kind could muster sentient thought, you ponies are so fragile." he pulled his horn out, and his magic ceased to hold to dying equine up,"W...Why?" asked the fading colt. The giant leaned down, and spoke,"Because we don't play games with mud ponies." his horn found itself embedded in the skull of his victim, and it just as quickly found itself out the brain of his foe.

He looked down at the corpse before him, his face, or what wasn't smeared beyond recognition or punctured, had a look of agony plastered unto it, and the blood trickled out of the newly added orifices, puddling on the cold stone,"Ugh, even in death I wait on him." He walked out of the room through a door in the mess of shelves, and returned with a towel, and threw it over the body,"Stupid bastard." he the strode away.


	3. Chapter 3:Sound Of Mind

(Well, it took me forever, but I finally got a new chapter out.! Sorry it took so long, I ended up writing like five different versions, but this is the one I like, so here it is.)

Canterlot, as I'm sure you know, is in the side of a great mountain. As you leave the rolling hills, and traverse the well paved roads, you will find a fork in the path. There is a small sign, which has two small wooden arrows, pointing to either of the paths. One reads,"To:Ponyville." and the other,"To:Equestrian Penitentiary.". The road to the aforementioned prison is less kempt. It is paved, yes, but the road is fading, as it must have been decades since it had been. It wasn't travelled often, the few who found themselves going down this road, would have to keep going for a good fourth of a mile, and then were met with a most displeasing sight.

The sight is, s you can imagine, the prison. The penitentiary is large, and built of a simple gray cement. It's height was around four stories, and it was lined with barred windows spaced evenly. One could fancy by gazing upon these rows of windows, the dimensions of the rooms they were part of, if one desired to enlighten themselves to such an unhappy thought. It was one building, with a large metal fence around it, and there was a small between the building and the gate. The fence measured up to the second story of the great cage, and it had barbed wire on it's top.

The gate was of the same material as the fence, and was only opened by a specific spell, learned from the princess herself, and passed to the first guards, when it was founded to lock away the revolutionaries spawned from Luna's banishment. The guards you will find inside are not of the variety you see in the cities and towns. They wear armour of a magenta hue, and in place of the flamboyant crests adorning the helmets of the royal guards, they had simple headwear. Their helmets were crafted to fit perfectly to the head, and did just that. They and body armour were simple steel plates, and while the body armour was dyed, the helmet was a simple steel colour.

They weren't just called guards either. They were called,"The Legion.", and were an independent organization. Muscle for hire is what they were originally, but after the great riot(A revolt that took place two hundred years prior, and resulted in the majority of the guard force either dead or injured, and a good portion of the prisoner population either dead or escaped.) they have become the soul guardians of the prison, payed for by the Equestrian Royal Treasury.

The interior was ancient, it had been redone around a hundred years ago, but styled to look like the original model which was destroyed a year prior under mysterious circumstances. It had no common rooms, instead rows of cells. Each of the four floors was filled to maximum capacity, and the majority of it's residents would spend twenty five years or more in these walls. Underneath the prison was two levels of large, spacious basement. The first subterranean floor contained the store room, and legionary quarters. The quarters were rooms, about the same size as a cell, only adorned with whatever had behooved it's denizen to decorate it with.

And then there was the lowermost floor. It contained the most dangerous of the population. These rooms were twice the size of an average cell, each with a small, broken down bed, a table and two chairs, and even their own bathrooms. The doors were reinforced iron, and had a small slot towards the bottom of it, where the food was dropped in three times a day, and a small barred window, that would be peered into every fifteen minutes by a legionary. The residents of these rooms were, for the most part, waiting to die, either by the executioner's blade, or anticipating age to strike them down. It didn't matter, they were all dead ponies walking, so to speak.

And within one of these great cell's, sat Pinkamena Diane Pie. She was sitting quietly at her table, eating the recently delivered breakfast. It was rather simple and plain, and revolting. A grayish substance that was passed off as porridge was the main course, with a small drink of water, and a rock solid cookie that looked like it was baked by a foal who couldn't use an oven. She had finished most of the gray slop that passed for food, and was now sitting there, rolling the cookie back and forth with her hoof.

She heard hoofsteps approaching, and did her best to ignore the fact she knew that soon beedy little eyes would soon be gazing upon her. The legionaries weren't discreet when they found themselves attracted to a mare, and the poor sod who did the checks on this floor often gandered at her longer than needed. He wasn't as bad as some were, the horror stories you would have heard from the mares who were locked in that prison would make one's blood run cold, had anypony ever broken the silence.

Her thoughts were broken as she felt a tap on her shoulder,sending fear throughout the mare's body. She lurched forward, knocking the table over and now she laid on the ground, string up at a figure who now stood before her. This figure towered over her, standing bipedal, and looming down. It was shrouded in some form of cloak, which moved in some odd self contained air current, much like the hair of the princess, which seemed to serve the sole purpose of obscuring the creatures face. This beast of a being spoke in it's soft, harmonious voice,"It's time.".

Pinkamena's eyes widened,"I served you...I…""Oh shut up! I have better things to do then this, get it done, and I shall hold my end of the bargain." Pinkamena laid there sprawled on the floor for a moment, and then nodded slowly,"You better." she said, and the figure was consumed in laughter,"I better? Or what? You equines, are the funniest things I've bothered with in millennium!" Pinkamena rolled her eyes,"Or maybe I won't play into your endgame you big meanie!"

His renewed cackling signified how futile her efforts were,"Big meanie? Are you a foal?" He paused, and composed himself"If it were so easy we wouldn't be talking, you would be with your friends, not in a cell, and I would be dead. No, we are beyond the point of no return, you can't stop,and you won't." She looked at him,"Did you bring the script this time, or am I waiting again?" He pulled a rolled up piece of parchment out of his cloak, and handed it to her,"This is icky, I have million ways in, why should I pick the worst?"

She found that, to her dismay, she was alone. She quickly put the parchment in her pillow case. She then put the table and chairs back where the should be, and took a seat in one of the chairs. She sat there for a moment, in silence, staring forward vacantly. Then before her she could see herself, as if in a mirror. She looked different than she did when she saw this split of her. This hideous little mimic was of a darker colouring, her eyes crazed, fixated on the mare across from her. She sat in a strange, upright manner, grinning widely/

They sat for a moment, in silence, and the lighter coloured mare came to find, her counterpart didn't blink, rather she stared into the mare's eyes. "You know what we should do when we're out?" Pinkamena rolled her eyes,"I don't know." she said exasperatedly. "Guess, Guess!" The dark mare's smile grew, almost bounced out of her chair, the other pink mare sighed,"Just tell me." to which the reply of,"Guess!" rang out from the elated being. A look of annoyance spread on the face of the lighter mare.

"I don't feel like playing this game right now." she said, barely able to contain her frustration with her ever jovial counterpart. Before she could finish blinking she felt a foreleg around her, and found the horrid mirror image was behind her, with her foreleg wrapped around her in an unwanted embrace,"What's the matter? Aren't you super excited? We get to have another party!" "I don't want another party!" came the retort of the lighter one,"Don't wanna party! DON'T WANT ANOTHER PARTY! Do you even know what you're saying!" exclaimed copy of her;"You've gotta be going crazy to not one!" She squirmed out of the tight grasp of her hideous reflection.

"Think of it, streamers, balloons, smiling ponies, CUPCAKES!" "That's not what they're like!" The mares agitation continued to grow, as a sympathetic smile spread across her doubles face,"Pinkie, Pinkie, Pinkie, I think we've been in this cell too long, that's how ALL our parties are! I told you, being here is hurting your mind!" she found her repugnant twin suddenly an inch from her face, her forehooves suddenly keeping her head in place, staring into that...things eyes"Let me help you remember Pinkie."

Pinkie shook herself free,"No! Get off me!" and the mirror image's expression grew into one of annoyance, cold, careless frustration"Fine! If you're gonna be a big meanie then you can rot in here!" The mirror image was gone, and Pinkie sat alone, in her cell. She grabbed the parchment, and read over it,"At least that fillie get's what she deserves finally!" she muttered to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Braeburn's home was a small one. His type was not used to this, luxury befit a colt of his stature. He thought he was rather brilliant to have done this, though his ilk found it a repugnant remind of his paranoia. Within the king's hovel, he sat in a small chair staring angrily out the window. _Idiots! Ah swear, you would think ponies would show me some buckin respect 'round here!_ He thought bitterly to himself. He got up, walked into his kitchen, and opened one of his cupboards. It was an ornately carved piece of wood, with a red apple one the front. Within the small space were rows of assorted bottles, all shapes and sizes. He grabbed one, a small rectangular bottle that rew skinny at the top, labeled,"Apple Family Whiskey." He undid the cap, grabbed a small glass, and poured it near the top.

He then looked back to the label. It had a picture of his great grandfather, a small in stature colt with a short mane, in a suit. He smiled broadly, and held a bottle in hoof, and underneath it read,"Made with the same care we were founded with." Braeburn scoffed, and turned the bottle to read the back."The Apple family has made a large assortment of fine goods for generations, and by far, our personal favorites are our liquors. Brewed fresh in Stalliongrad, we make a great many drinks for the discerning customer. Our Hard Ciders, Whiskeys, and Bourbon leave nothing to be desired, they are liquid perfection. We sincerely hope, and guarantee, that you enjoy this."

Braeburn took a sip, and let the taste wash over his tongue, swished it a little, and finally swallowed. He grimaced _Liquid perfection Ha! Gold Fritter says we spend a good five bits manufacturing this shit! Ah bet not a single pony thinks that this is any good._ He put the cup to his lips, and tossed his head back, swallowing the liquid down as fast as he could. He took the bottle in hoof, and went back to his chair, tossing back another sip of the foul swill. He grabbed a small letter on the arm of the chair, which he had read and reread several times today already.

"Greetings. I send this letter in haste, and henceforth have no time to waste with lackeys reading this. If you are not Braeburn, then send this to him. To Braeburn, I represent The Canterlot Brotherhood, a powerful order of esteemed individuals, and we wish to do business with you, though I can not entrust such an important matter to be expanded upon in a letter given to a common courier, and we can make no attempt the deliver it personally. I assure you it will be most to your satisfaction. If you are interested, then I will have one of our distinguished members waiting at the train station, everyday from dusk till dawn, for the next two months. I have included his picture in this letter. I look forward to doing business with you."

He forced more of the horrid liquid down, and read the letter again. He sat there for some time, drinking and reading that damned letter. And finally, as the bottle neared empty he found his senses failing him. He tried to read the letter again, but found that once his eyes were upon it, the mental strain of reading it was as appealing as a knife to the chest. He looked around for the last of the bottle, and found the glass vessel still grasped in hoof, to which he laughed uproariously. He threw his head back preemptively, and thrust the bottle towards his mouth. It reached it clumsily, and while he tried to get the orange liquid into his eager maw, he poured much on himself. He tossed the empty bottle aside, which hit the wall with a fitting sound of shattering glass.

He got up, and while he was originally intending to head to the lavatory, he found the floor as his destination, as he fell over when he attempted a step forward. He giggled to himself, and pulled his form off the floor clumsily. He stumbled into the kitchen, leaning against the wall, and pushed onward to the liquor cabinet. He pulled a bottle out, and fiddled with the cap, after a moment, he forced it off, and planted it on his lips, drinking a large gulp. The liquid tasted different, and when he finished his sip, and looked to the bottle, for the first time since he had grasped it, examined it. It was a clear liquid, and had a blue label. The only word he bothered reading was,"GIn".

He shrugged, and took another sip. He instantly regretted this, as he began feeling nauseous a second after he gulped the foul substance down. He tried to stumble to the sink, but fell again, and found himself puking on the floor. He laughed about this, and then attempted to make it back to his chair. He slipped on the floor, and found himself feeling tired, and therefore he closed his eyes. Relaxation washed over the colt, and he drifted in his lucid state, until he allowed consciousness to leave him.

13 and a half hours later

Braeburn was pulled from a dreamless sleep. By what, he lacked the knowledge, but it wasn't present any longer, as far as he could tell. He felt nausea wash over him, and tried his best ignore this. He began to feel as if he could contain the bile no longer, and he made his way to the bathroom. He puked in the toilet, leaning over it, and feeling the great mass of alcohol he consumed pour out of his mouth. He wiped his mouth with his hoof, and went hoofstep thudded in his ears, as his cranium pulsated with pain at each beat of his heart, each step like a hammer being smashed into the walls of his head.

He stepped into the kitchen, and saw the half empty bottle of Gin. He took a large swig of the foul liquid. He took it to his chair, and sat there for a moment, before forcing as much of the substance down his throat as he could in one motion. He pulled the bottle from his lips, and allowed the feeling to wash over him, as the liquor burned in his throat. He heard a knock on the door, and it pounded in his skull, prompting him to groan and take another sip. The knocking continued for an abnormally long amount of time before Braeburn grew irate, the pain and annoyance, along with the beginnings of intoxication, prompted him to yell out,"Go away!" as he took another sip.

The knocking did not stop and he finally got up, and trotted to the door and opened it. Standing outside was a dirt brown coated colt, in a suit. His chocolate eyes looked over the mess of a colt he saw before him,"Braeburn, the buck happened? You look like shit." Braeburn rolled his eyes,"The buck do you want?" he asked quickly, and the colt before his grimaced,"Sweet Celestia, chill." said the colt, and Braeburn leaned in,"The buck do you want!" he yelled, and the colt jumped a little,"Listen, we got a box from Canterlot." he said and Braeburn cocked an eyebrow,"And?" The colt took a moment to try ad force the words out, and when Braeburn got ready yell again the colt spit it out.

"The package had our negotiators head, and a note! They want your cousin!" Braeburn's face was plastered in two emotions, confusion, and anger,"They sent you his head?" the colt nodded,"They want Applejack, they said they will take her if we don't just send her to Canterlot." he looked at the colt, his eyes ablaze,"Ah want em all dead bring em back here to Appleloosa, I'm gonna gut em all mahself." The colt nodded fervently,"Are you gonna come meet the circle?" he asked, and Braeburn scoffed,"Ah am the circle! Bother somepony else will ya." and the colt walked off.


	5. Chapter 5:Pieces Come Into Place

(Wow, I've spent a whole year on this story, and it is still going. Sorry it took me a legit 9 months to get this out, but either way, here is the new chapter. Enjoy, and if you've reached this far, I would appreciate a review, to tell me if it's good or utter shit.)

The depraved, the macabre, and the forlorn are often bed mates in the world. Equestria has seen its fair share of death and mayhem, the Pie incident was the most public one in this century, perhaps, but behind the scenes, like in all places in existence, utterly depraved and evil things occur. Celestia herself, who lives in the realm of opulent lavishness and perceived never ending revelry is a master of the horrid, you know. A brilliant orchestrator of death, her regime has stood a millenia and then some for more reasons than the simple love and peace propaganda and magical elements. The Canterlot guard and her have their secrets, and they shall take them to the grave and perhaps hold them close to their chests in the cold abyss as well. The point I reach is that Celestia was not unaccustomed to death, indeed death and her seemed to almost hold hands at times. No, it was failure she lacked a tolerance for, her failure to see a madmare was her greatest shame, for now all of the world knew she had fallen for lies, and had allowed a killer to stand beside her and her protege as a friend. As a hero. No longer.

Raising herself from her bed, she yawned half asleep. Her grimace, a feature her face had become accustomed to, still sat squarely on her features, as her tired eyes made their way slothishly to the window, where they feasted upon the crescent moon, and the star dotted sky behind it. She trotted to her balcony, and raised her horn to the sky, channeling the ancient magic in the same way she had for what felt like eternity. Feeling the massive tug of the thing was second nature, as she forced it to it's place boredly. She rolled her eyes as she saw a few ponies below scurrying about to god's know where."Could they not sleep like any other decent folk?" she thought, before making her way back into her chambers. On the table that resided to her left was a most odious bit of paperwork:That of Pinkamena's plea deal. It had taken no time at all for it to be approved by the Guard, and it was on her shoulders as to its acceptance. It's terms, she mused, where reasonable coming from a madmare, but in her mind, they were an intolerable injustice to the whole of Equine kind. To spare the life of that, that beast in pony form, to know she drew breath with Pinkamena, and she could have rectified this, it was like a mallet to her mind.

She trotted to the table, and sat herself before the horrid papers. She glared at them, as they returned her hatred with a radiance of mockery, mockery of her failure. She opened the thing, and skipped past the chief psychiatrist's miserable excuse for a diagnosis, and paid no mind to the warden's counsel which he arrogantly assumed she deemed worth reading. She did not, she hadn't bothered with it the first read through, nor would she the second. She skipped to the section written by Pinkamena's legal counsel, the miserable wretch whom would pen a deal to save the neck of pure evil, she wished he would be strung up as well. She read it to herself, as she had the night before. It read as follows.

"My client, Ms. Pinkamena Diane Pie, has agreed to reveal key details to your ongoing investigation into the series of murders which occurred last year. She has plead guilty to all charges, and was sentenced to death. She has agreed to reveal the identity of an accomplice to the murders, in exchange for the overturning of her death sentence. She requests to tell you in person, and that she will be allowed to see Canterlot one last time, by meeting you in the castle, and being held there for the remainder of her sentence.

Signed: Forest Quil."

It was most curious she thought to herself, that she would want to come to Canterlot, most curious indeed. She did not trust that mare, not even for a moment. A knock came upon her door, twice it rapped at the frame until she swung it open with her magic from the other side of the room. To her surprise Luna's voice wafted into her ears,"Sister, how are you?" Celestia sat there a moment. "Tia, I know these papers have… upset you, but I wish you would tell me what they are." Celestia turned to face Luna,"You know what I have just read? It seems we were right… though I wish we weren't. She has an accomplice Luna!"

There are abundant forms of terror. There is fear that binds you in place, and fear that propels you blindly to search for refuge. There is a fear however, reserved for horror of true and boundless mass, for things so vile that they sink into one's stomach as if it were a pit, and for a singular moment, all goodness leaves the body to be consumed by this maddening terror. The concept of somepony of the same demeanor as the Pie killer elicited this fear in Luna. "An… an accomplice? Who, who could that beast of a mare do those things? How?" Celestia almost enjoyed seeing her sister, for once, mirror the despondence she felt indefinitely. "She won't say, she wants to personally reveal it." Luna smirker,"An obvious bluff sister, a lie, she-" Celestia cut her off,"And if it is not?" Luna pondered a moment to pick her words. "Tia, who among us is so depraved? Who could possibly have been a cohort of that mare? There is none, evil like this is a rare occurrence. If you give in to this, she could feel as if she's won something."

"She had won Luna, she has continued to win, the only victory we can claim here is to ensure the crimes she committed can not have successors." Her sister's face fell,"What if you didn't overturn the sentence?" Celestia scoffed in annoyance,"I already said that I'm going to take the deal Luna." her sister's voice like silk retorted,"Perhaps you tell a bit of a lie, say you will, and than hang her anyway." Celestia did not respond, she simply sat there, looking at those papers,"Tia-" "Leave me." was all that was heard in response, and Luna nodded, exiting the room.

Pinkamena sat on her floor, her hoof moving back and forth absentmindedly. She thought quietly about whether Rainbow Dash was sleeping or working now, she knew that the lazy pegasus often lay in slumber longer than she should. The pleasant thoughts of Rainbow Dash were disrupted when she heard her own voice chiming in from the direction of the bed,"Dashie's not gonna be doing either of those for loooonnng." she said, ending her sentence with a singsong tone. "I can't wait to party with her, she's got the most wonderful wings! Ooh, where should they go, the wall, the table, a centerpiece?" "Shut up damn it!" Pinkie yelled. The hoof that came to rest on her shoulder rested itself there with a greater weight than one would expect to feel,"You know you want to get her on that table Pinkie. Maybe I'll let you play with her a bit. You've been so pent up here." Pinkie jerked herself away from the hoof,"Go away! When we get out of this, you'll be gone! And I can live my life, and not worry about you hurting my friends!"

A loud cackle came from right behind her, as she felt the entity behind her lean in and whisper,"Silly filly, we're the same pony. You want me gone than you'll have to die. Even in the afterlife Pinkie, I'm gonna be right here, encouraging you to be your best. I'm helping you Pinkie, you just don't see it." Pinkie simply fell silent, as her own voice prattled on in it's grotesque evil, "I'm thinking that we pull the works on our little Dashie, I want to make it memorable for us all. Let's do a vivisection without the pain meds! Oh oh oh, wait I got a better one, let's set a patch of her fur on fire! No no, it might get to the straps, can't have that. Maybe we can put a live rat in her, and let it eat through her."

As Pinkie tried her best to ignore her, the hideous thing behind her bit at the air to ensure she got the point. She was jolted back as the door opened, and the floor's legionary stepped through, along with three more armed comrades. Behind them, she knew there were more, waiting in case she made an attempt to power through them. Those in the room had the set of standard chains that were used for transport, and had their short swords still affixed to their sides. "Miss Pie, your being transported. Please stand up, and let us attach your bonds, so we can arrive on schedule." Pinkie rose to her hooves, and stood still, as they went about getting her locked in. Behind her, she could see she had been corrected, plenty of armed guards there, but they weren't legionaries. No, she could make out their ornate crests, their gold hued armour, they were royal Canterlot guards. She laughed a bit, he had been right she thought, in the end, Celestia was easy.


End file.
